XIII (english version)

Résumé des tomes

Tome 1 :
A man washes ashore near an old couple’s house, barely alive. When he comes to, he has forgotten everything, including his name. The only clues to his identity: a key sewn into his clothes, a bullet wound to the head… and the number XIII tattooed on his shoulder. A meagre start to reconstruct one’s self.

Tome 2 :
XIII is looking for a certain Kim Rowlands, a woman with whom he saw himself in a photograph. His search will yield a name—his, perhaps—and take him to a place that may be home. All families have secrets, though, and they can get a man killed. And what exactly do General Carrington and his beautiful aide Lieutenant Jones want with him?

Tome 3 :
Convicted of murder and sent to a high-security prison for the criminally insane, XIII finds himself not only unable to continue searching for his past, but also at the mercy of his enemies. Unbeknownst to him, though, General Carrington and the beautiful (and deadly) Lieutenant Jones are still trying to unravel the mystery of the presidential assassination. All they have to do is find a way to help him before he loses his life–or his mind.

Tome 4 :
Now called Ross Tanner, XIII joins the elite SPADS (Special Assault and Destruction Squads) to try and learn more about Captain Rowland, his last identity. As if the shadowy threats hanging over his head weren’t enough, he also has to contend with gruelling training and a hostile instructor. Meanwhile, in Washington, investigations continue, and a series of clues emerge, pointing towards people XIII thought his allies. Can he trust Colonel Amos, General Carrington or… Lieutenant Jones?

Tome 5 :
XIII, Jones and Betty Barnowsky escaped the deadly trap set by Colonel McCall. Lost in a hostile jungle, they must now make their way back to America. And they must be quick: In Washington, every ally the fugitives ever had has been arrested in preparation for the conspirators’ master stroke, coinciding with a general exercise of all American armed forces: Operation Full Red. Suddenly, XIII’s quest becomes a last-ditch fight for the freedom of an entire nation.

Tome 6 :
With the conspiracy that nearly claimed his life dismantled, XIII can finally turn all his attention towards uncovering his own distant past. Armed with everything he could find on Jason Fly—the man he seems to be—he heads to Green Falls, where he grew up. The problem with amnesia is that you never know exactly what you’ll dig up when you go home again. And... is everything really solved concerning the presidential assassination that cost him his memory?

Tome 7 :
XIII and Jones are on the run. Hunted by local authorities, they’re suspected of three murders, including that of The Mongoose’s hired killer. The sheriff of Green Falls, henchman to the town’s biggest landowner, is all too happy to accuse the fugitives: The two men don’t want certain details from the past to surface. XIII is going to have to survive long enough to dig up the truth about what really happened on the night of August 3rd long ago…

Tome 8 :
XIII survived the trip back to his childhood home. The Mongoose has finally been caught and is in a high-security jail. But there is still one piece of the puzzle missing, and when President Sheridan asks him to discover who the Number I is, the man now known as Jason McLane doesn’t hesitate for long. His best chance: finding Kim Rowland wherever she may be hiding. But the Mongoose has powerful allies and won’t stay locked up forever…

Tome 9 :
Jason McLane is on holidays with Jones at some friends’ in Central America, when a peculiar priest offers him startling news: He may very well be a married man! And because nothing is ever simple in XIII’s life, his apparent wife is none other than the leader of the democratic guerrillas in neighbouring Costa Verde, Maria De Los Santos—currently awaiting execution in a maximum security fortress. Time for the amnesiac to put his skills to good use again— for Maria.

Tome 10 :
Captured and imprisoned in the Roca Negra fortress, XIII is being tortured by the sinister Colonel Peralta. But, for all his pain and suffering, he’s also in the same building as Maria, the woman who may be his wife. And they have plenty of dedicated, resourceful friends outside… as well as at least one traitor. Still unsure of his past, Jason McLane will have no choice but to become the man known as “El Cascador” to clean up Costa Verde once and for all.

Tome 11 :
XIII has freed a country, exposed a traitor, reunited with his wife… and found his father. As he deals—somewhat against his will—with the aftermath of the revolution in Costa Verde, Sean Mullway recounts for him his family’s history: Irish immigrants, remorseless Mafiosi, Mexican gold, and three silver watches. New answers will also bring new questions and a whole new set of potential enemies just as old ones come back to the fore.

Tome 12 :
Called back to the USA by the frantic government, McLane and Jones discover that General Carrington has kidnapped Wally Sheridan, President of the United States! Holed up in a secret base he’s turned into a fortress, Carrington intends to put Sheridan on trial on live TV and expose him as the Number I of the conspiracy. To do that, he’s going to need XIII’s help in bringing in his main witness: the Mongoose!

Tome 13 :
The Mongoose is dead. So is Number I. But, since he was the President of the United States, XIII’s friends are all on the run again. McLane, though, has been arrested, and he’s being judged in secret by the heads of the American intelligence community. Sentenced to life in a secret prison, he has no illusions that he’ll ever reach it. The ruthlessness of the NSA Director proves him right—but he’s not the only one who wants XIII dead.

Tome 14 :
Having escaped from the clutches of Irina’s organisation, XIII is on the loose in America but still hunted by both Giordino’s NSA and Irina’s top assassin, Jessica. As he tries to return to his friends in San Miguel, he’s forced to dodge bullets and outsmart various traps and ambushes. With the odds stacked against him, he will have to rely on help from an enemy and his own mounting anger at the constant string of attacks.

Tome 15 :
Arrested by the Costaverdean authorities because of pressure from the US, XIII and his friends are awaiting their extradition. Instead, they’re freed by Costaverdean troops in disguise. But they can’t afford to stick around, as they’re still on the run from the most powerful nation on Earth. Desperate for money, McLane decides to go after Maximilian’s gold, as Mullway believes he’s found the location of the third silver watch. The problem is that the location is under 150 feet of water...

Tome 16 :
XIII and his friends, still in hiding from the NSA, now have the riddle from all three silver watches… and Maximilian’s gold is within their reach. But the treasure is well hidden. Not to mention that $15 million is enough to attract a lot of unwanted attention. Meanwhile, in Washington, an increasingly desperate Frank Giordino can feel the noose tightening around his neck—and men are at their most dangerous when desperate. All he needs is someone to bring him the right information...

Tome 17 :
Little by little, XIII has reconstructed most of his life and figured out who he is. With one exception: There is still a gap in his college years, when Jason McLane became Kelly Brian. A gap that may mean the amnesiac adventurer is in fact an Irish terrorist, Seamus O'Neil. This flashback brings us back to Boulder, Colorado, and before that to Northern Ireland, to reveal the last piece of the XIII puzzle, and his final identity.

Tome 18 :
XIII and his friends have failed to recover Maximilian’s gold and are tired of hiding, running and struggling. When two books come out in the USA relating all the events of the amnesiac’s life and the details of the Conspiracy of the XX, they see it as a possible chance to come out in the open and trust in their country’s justice. But they still have enemies, at home and abroad, and everyone is set on a collision course...

Tome 19 :
After all his adventures across the American continent, after defeating his many enemies, XIII is trying to live a simple life in the house he inherited, where it all started. It’s not always easy – not everyone is happy to have such an infamous man in the area, and his skills are in high demand with some people of varying integrity. His memories are still locked away, too, and some people want to keep it that way…

Tome 20 :
XIII is hiding in France at the Préseaus, after a past more nebulous he even believed possible caught up to him again. But the organisation that’s after him hasn’t said its last word, and has considerable means at its disposal. It lures Jones, on duty in Afghanistan, into a terrible ambush, for the sole purpose of serving as bait for the amnesiac – who immediately rushes to her rescue. Meanwhile, Betty Barnowsky-Préseau is off to Maine to dig into XIII’s past…

Tome 21 :
The agents of the organisation that was hunting for XIII have finally captured him, along with his friends, but he’s still refusing his captors’ job offer. Forced to give in after they commit an appalling act just to coerce him, he’s discreetly brought back to the USA, where he finally learns what they’re really after. Meanwhile, Betty Barnowsky continues her own investigation under the FBI’s very noses. For both of them, the road leads, once again, to Green Falls…

Tome 22 :
Jason has managed to give his captors the slip, but he was forced to leave Betty behind, severely injured. After a short but tense episode dealing with the north-eastern mafia, he’s off to the next step in his quest: Leiden, Holland, from where half of the Mayflower expedition left, and where his godfather appears to live. But his enemies haven’t given up, and the young local guide he’s picked brings her own heap of troubles…

Tome 23 :
Still with Annika, Jason McLane has the documents his godfather left for him to find in the Netherlands deciphered. Once translated, the text offers revelations of breathtaking importance – enough to change the geopolitical map for ever. But the killers sent by the Mayflower Foundation are still after them, while in Afghanistan, Jones and Carrington’s situation goes from bad to worse. XIII will have to be on his best game to sort it all out – but at what price?